reloading shotshells

reyebe · April 20, 2008, 09:32 PM

Years ago I reloaded for 12 Ga and saved about $2.00 a box and had the option of rolling custom loads. I'm currently buying retail 12 Ga for $6 a box and I calculated the cost of reloading them from prices found on the internet for the components. Cost to reload is $5.40 a box buying the components in lots of 1000. (Not including the cost of once fired hulls)The lead shot at $2 a pound + sales tax is outrageous, not to mention primers at $37 per thous. Does anybody have any info or sources to reduce any of these costs significantly? Hopefully, getting it down to $4 or $4.50 a box it would be worthwhile. When I added in the cost of once fired AA hulls, the cost went up to $7.90 a box for the first reloading of the hulls.

DIXIEDOG · April 20, 2008, 10:33 PM

Not really. I think it is just as cost effective just to buy 12 and 20 ga shells in bulk packs. Now if you switch it to .410 or 32 ga then it is definitely a money saver.

VaFisher · April 21, 2008, 06:19 AM

I have to agree, buy the 12ga. and if you are loading for smaller more expensive calipers then you will save. I personally load 28ga. and make my own shot so it saves me a bit.

oneounceload · April 21, 2008, 06:26 AM

buy in bigger bulk - 5000 primers, 5000 wads, 8lb. powder kegs, etc.....
try your local shotgun club - they might offer members a bit of a deal, especially if they buy in bulk...also see if they're selling reclaimed shot - usually half the price and just fine for practice.....

freakshow10mm · April 21, 2008, 08:50 AM

Skeet and trap shooting clubs do group buys a lot. Get in on it. Some stuff is cheap. Use Claybuster wads and get a 5K pack for $75 or so. Shoot lighter payloads to conserve shot per round.

OF hulls aren't hard to find for 12ga.

Use this calculator to figure your costs.
http://10xshooters.com/calculators/S...ReloadingCost/

I'm loading 20ga 7/8oz for $3.98/box.

AF_Reloader · April 21, 2008, 11:15 AM

Reclaimed shot is my biggest money saver. Since 90% of my rounds go towards shooting trap/skeet, I don't mind using it. Anything I reload for hunting is going to be new, but clay birds can't tell the difference between new and reclaimed.

reyebe · April 21, 2008, 04:03 PM

Thank you, everyone for your advice. Reclaimed shot is one I had not thought of although that is what I used when I formerly reloaded. I do have a 20/28 barrel set for my Baretta Silver Pigeon but I seldom shoot the 28.

BigJimP · April 21, 2008, 05:46 PM

A lot of the reclaimed shot I see on the market has a fine dust on it - that can really gum up a loader. You may have to clean it before you dump it into your loader. I bought 2 bags to try last fall - and I ended up dumping it at about 3 lbs a time into a bath towel - and rolling it around inside the towel and re-bagging it. I bought 8's ( and there were 9's and some pellets clear up to 4's in the bag ) it was a real mix - and a few rocks, etc mixed in too. I think it's fine - especially for practice - but some of the reclaim companies do a better job than others - just take a look at it before you run it thru your press.

Part of reloading - if you use harder shot - is you are loading a premium shell closer to what a Remington STS / Remington Nitro shell will cost you - not Esate or Rio - so you should compare your reloads to a STS cost of about
$ 7.50 a box. Your savings will be more significant. But comparing it to Estate & Rio is valid if you're only looking far a practice shell that you don't care that much about.

Like others told you - buy in bigger quantities - especially shot ( but not now when its over $ 35 a bag ). Try and buy 3 or 4 tons and split it up among your buddies ( I'm still working off 2 tons or about 160 bags I bought a little over a year ago at about $ 14 a bag ).

I buy wads in case lots - and usually 5 or 6 of us go in together and I prefer Duster wads. Duster uses virgin plastic vs recycled - and I think they give me better patterns than claybuster or windjammer. There are places on the internet - like Recob's target shop - that are good guys to deal with on things like wads - they advertise in all the shotgun mags / they have MEC loaders, and parts too. Powder and primers I buy thru my local gun club - but I keep at least 24 lbs of powder on hand and 15,000 + of primers - especially now when they are hard to come by.

For me reloading is part of the game - part of the time to spend with the grandkids in them helping - and I just enjoy shooting my own shells. I'd reload even if it was a push on costs with buying Remington STS new shells. When the cost of shot went way up - a lot of us are shooting more 28ga anyway.

kv501 · April 24, 2008, 04:17 PM

Quote:

A lot of the reclaimed shot I see on the market has a fine dust on it - that can really gum up a loader. You may have to clean it before you dump it into your loader. I bought 2 bags to try last fall - and I ended up dumping it at about 3 lbs a time into a bath towel - and rolling it around inside the towel and re-bagging it. I bought 8's ( and there were 9's and some pellets clear up to 4's in the bag ) it was a real mix - and a few rocks, etc mixed in too. I think it's fine - especially for practice - but some of the reclaim companies do a better job than others - just take a look at it before you run it thru your press.

Big Jim. The best way to clean reclaim is to get a large container (say, a Rubbermaid tote if you are doing a lot), and a strong fan. Set the fan up so that there is just enough room in front of it for the shot to fall in. Take a handful of the dirty shot, hold it near the fan, and drop it through the air stream and into the container. This will blow out any dust, steel particles, small rocks (anything that would be in reclaim) while the heavier (and now clean) shot falls in the tote. The only trick is to find the sweet spot that wont blow away the shot, which is pretty easy. I have shot hundreds of pounds of reclaim and this is definitely the easiest and most effective method. Finish up by coating the shot with some graphite and you're set.

One HUGE word of caution. 99% of the guys I know who shoot reclaim don't clean it very well and have permanently scored barrels and don't even know it. If you have shot a lot of reclaim you may want to check yours. I have been very diligent about cleaning and haven't found anything noticeable in my guns, but I find the "fan method" to be the only one which removes foreign matter well enough to not damage barrels. Hope this was of help.

Nick

BigJimP · April 24, 2008, 05:52 PM

Thanks for the tip on how to clean it.

I bought one bag of it was all. After the experience I had with it - I didn't buy any more of it - it wasn't worth the aggravation.

oneounceload · April 24, 2008, 06:31 PM

that dust is probably the graphite used to relubricate the shot - unless it is really excessive, I wouldn't worry about it

crowbeaner · April 24, 2008, 10:12 PM

I just came from one of my favorite gunshops, and PERUVIAN shot is $49.95 per bag! Goose Hill wants $60.99 for Lawrence. D***! I'm seriously thinking about ordering a Littleton and making my own water quenched wheelweight shot. Wally world raised their prices on AA shells $2 a box in January. This is NOT GOOD! The price of the Littleton is what 8 bags of shot would cost. With a teenager wanting to shoot clays this summer, I'd be in the poorhouse buying shot. I got used to paying $10 a box for #4 RP hibrass shells, but this is getting ridiculous.

April 20, 2008, 09:32 PM	#1
reyebe Junior Member Join Date: April 11, 2008 Posts: 3	reloading shotshells Years ago I reloaded for 12 Ga and saved about $2.00 a box and had the option of rolling custom loads. I'm currently buying retail 12 Ga for $6 a box and I calculated the cost of reloading them from prices found on the internet for the components. Cost to reload is $5.40 a box buying the components in lots of 1000. (Not including the cost of once fired hulls)The lead shot at $2 a pound + sales tax is outrageous, not to mention primers at $37 per thous. Does anybody have any info or sources to reduce any of these costs significantly? Hopefully, getting it down to $4 or $4.50 a box it would be worthwhile. When I added in the cost of once fired AA hulls, the cost went up to $7.90 a box for the first reloading of the hulls. Last edited by reyebe; April 20, 2008 at 11:03 PM.

April 21, 2008, 04:03 PM	#7
reyebe Junior Member Join Date: April 11, 2008 Posts: 3	reloading cost Thank you, everyone for your advice. Reclaimed shot is one I had not thought of although that is what I used when I formerly reloaded. I do have a 20/28 barrel set for my Baretta Silver Pigeon but I seldom shoot the 28.

April 24, 2008, 10:12 PM	#12
crowbeaner Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2007 Location: Upstate SC Posts: 1,943	I just came from one of my favorite gunshops, and PERUVIAN shot is $49.95 per bag! Goose Hill wants $60.99 for Lawrence. D***! I'm seriously thinking about ordering a Littleton and making my own water quenched wheelweight shot. Wally world raised their prices on AA shells $2 a box in January. This is NOT GOOD! The price of the Littleton is what 8 bags of shot would cost. With a teenager wanting to shoot clays this summer, I'd be in the poorhouse buying shot. I got used to paying $10 a box for #4 RP hibrass shells, but this is getting ridiculous. __________________ If you want your children to follow in your footsteps, be careful where you walk. Beware the man that only owns one gun; he probably knows how to use it. I just hope my ship comes in before my dock rots.

April 20, 2008, 10:33 PM	#2
DIXIEDOG Senior Member Join Date: June 12, 2007 Location: Maine Posts: 265	Not really. I think it is just as cost effective just to buy 12 and 20 ga shells in bulk packs. Now if you switch it to .410 or 32 ga then it is definitely a money saver.

April 21, 2008, 06:19 AM	#3
VaFisher Senior Member Join Date: January 24, 2006 Posts: 596	I have to agree, buy the 12ga. and if you are loading for smaller more expensive calipers then you will save. I personally load 28ga. and make my own shot so it saves me a bit.

April 21, 2008, 06:26 AM	#4
oneounceload Junior member Join Date: April 18, 2008 Location: N. Central Florida Posts: 8,518	buy in bigger bulk - 5000 primers, 5000 wads, 8lb. powder kegs, etc..... try your local shotgun club - they might offer members a bit of a deal, especially if they buy in bulk...also see if they're selling reclaimed shot - usually half the price and just fine for practice.....

April 21, 2008, 08:50 AM	#5
freakshow10mm Junior member Join Date: January 23, 2008 Location: MI Posts: 1,398	Skeet and trap shooting clubs do group buys a lot. Get in on it. Some stuff is cheap. Use Claybuster wads and get a 5K pack for $75 or so. Shoot lighter payloads to conserve shot per round. OF hulls aren't hard to find for 12ga. Use this calculator to figure your costs. http://10xshooters.com/calculators/S...ReloadingCost/ I'm loading 20ga 7/8oz for $3.98/box.

April 21, 2008, 11:15 AM	#6
AF_Reloader Member Join Date: February 18, 2008 Location: Beale AFB, CA Posts: 73	Reclaimed shot is my biggest money saver. Since 90% of my rounds go towards shooting trap/skeet, I don't mind using it. Anything I reload for hunting is going to be new, but clay birds can't tell the difference between new and reclaimed.

April 21, 2008, 05:46 PM	#8
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	A lot of the reclaimed shot I see on the market has a fine dust on it - that can really gum up a loader. You may have to clean it before you dump it into your loader. I bought 2 bags to try last fall - and I ended up dumping it at about 3 lbs a time into a bath towel - and rolling it around inside the towel and re-bagging it. I bought 8's ( and there were 9's and some pellets clear up to 4's in the bag ) it was a real mix - and a few rocks, etc mixed in too. I think it's fine - especially for practice - but some of the reclaim companies do a better job than others - just take a look at it before you run it thru your press. Part of reloading - if you use harder shot - is you are loading a premium shell closer to what a Remington STS / Remington Nitro shell will cost you - not Esate or Rio - so you should compare your reloads to a STS cost of about $ 7.50 a box. Your savings will be more significant. But comparing it to Estate & Rio is valid if you're only looking far a practice shell that you don't care that much about. Like others told you - buy in bigger quantities - especially shot ( but not now when its over $ 35 a bag ). Try and buy 3 or 4 tons and split it up among your buddies ( I'm still working off 2 tons or about 160 bags I bought a little over a year ago at about $ 14 a bag ). I buy wads in case lots - and usually 5 or 6 of us go in together and I prefer Duster wads. Duster uses virgin plastic vs recycled - and I think they give me better patterns than claybuster or windjammer. There are places on the internet - like Recob's target shop - that are good guys to deal with on things like wads - they advertise in all the shotgun mags / they have MEC loaders, and parts too. Powder and primers I buy thru my local gun club - but I keep at least 24 lbs of powder on hand and 15,000 + of primers - especially now when they are hard to come by. For me reloading is part of the game - part of the time to spend with the grandkids in them helping - and I just enjoy shooting my own shells. I'd reload even if it was a push on costs with buying Remington STS new shells. When the cost of shot went way up - a lot of us are shooting more 28ga anyway.

April 24, 2008, 05:52 PM	#10
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	Thanks for the tip on how to clean it. I bought one bag of it was all. After the experience I had with it - I didn't buy any more of it - it wasn't worth the aggravation.

April 24, 2008, 06:31 PM	#11
oneounceload Junior member Join Date: April 18, 2008 Location: N. Central Florida Posts: 8,518	that dust is probably the graphite used to relubricate the shot - unless it is really excessive, I wouldn't worry about it